2020 has always looked into the future but has never sought to predict it. With the scenarios outlined on the following pages we have tried to present plausible views of how emerging technologies and other trends will influence the way in which we live our lives. We believe that there are enormous benefits to be gained from looking toward the future, and that for organizations wishing to innovate and remain competitive, such forward thinking is essential.
This issue is focused on ‘future gazing’ and how organizations can proactively overcome some of the challenges of dealing with the unknown, rather than simply being reactive, to enable them to shape the future. After all, the rapid rate of technology progression, along with the level of commitment required to embrace new technologies, has a longterm impact on the organization’s future.
Future gazing is not an exact science, but it is not necessary for organizations to resort to crystal balls and fortune-tellers. There are robust tools and approaches to demystify the unknowns with sufficient clarity to underpin decision making. We have applied PA’s own future gazing tools and techniques to help us generate the articles in this edition; our FutureWorlds approach offers an extremely focused and practical method of thinking about the future.
In this edition we cover the following scenarios:
mygov
In 2018, ambient intelligence and affective computing work quietly in the background as a class of 16-year-olds discover how the UK’s new hi-tech, intelligent welfare system provides personalized support when and where needed.
Ghost in the machine
Five years earlier, in 2013, Sasha de Silva, a global markets regulator, is on the trail of a rogue trader on a highly automated, weather-based futures market. We speculate on issues that algorithmic trading might present in the future, and on how tools such as reality mining might be employed.
Prophet & Boss?
Fast forward another few years and, in 2015, Mika Hesso, the CEO of NordIQ, looks back at the innovation capability and technologies that have made his organization a dominant market force, including passive biometrics, reality mining, and prediction markets.
Second sight
Finally we look back on the evolution of grid computing since we covered it in our very first issue back in 2004. It is well over a decade since Sun Microsystems pronounced, “the network is the computer”, and as grids evolve into ‘clouds’, we assess the impact of this technology and its readiness for business prime time.
